Many Chennaites would know of the Hot Breads bakery chain or fine-dining restaurants like Copper Chimney, EnteKeralam, The Marina, Writers Café and Bombay Brasserie to name a few. But little less known is the architect of this 'world on a plate' M. Mahadevan.

Mahadevan 'is the change' he wished for in the culinary scene in Chennai. He eschewed the familiar, cookie-cutter mentality of fast-food chains and chose to open several brands of specialty restaurants. Today, he has 212 partners across 16 countries and has a finger in the pie of 380 eateries across the globe.

It started in 1981, while still teaching in a college; he opened China Garden, a Chinese-food takeaway (in the premises of another restaurant called TicTac). In 1986 he started Cascade, a standalone restaurant serving gourmet Chinese, Thai and Malay fare. And in the span of 20 years he has opened, in partnership with like-minded businessmen, 130 bakeries in 16 countries.

His advice to budding entrepreneurs: "Innovate and think differently. Don't follow anyone's footsteps; leave you own footprints for others to follow”.